Read somewhere that the areas around the markings/serial ect. will look different, softer not as crisp - That's all the help I can get you till some more chimes in.

bohoki

09-04-2008, 9:45 PM

generally if it is old and spotless or has corrosion but the blueing looks perfect all around it

zinfull

09-05-2008, 9:12 AM

Sometimes it is easy but for more expense guns it is very hard. Look for pits with bluing and areas which should be in the white that are not. There should be wear marks on the high areas and corners. If they buffed the gun prior then it is easier to spot. The corners and stamps are not crisp.

The best is to compare with a know example of a proper gun.

Jerry

sorensen440

09-05-2008, 9:22 AM

Depends on the quality of work and prior condition of the metal
If the guy really knows what hes doing and there's no marks or rust spots on the metal I would doubt you could tell

Thefeeder

09-05-2008, 7:06 PM

Thanks for your input

tankerman

09-05-2008, 8:52 PM

This is correct, but in these instances the blueing on a gun without rust is usually just touched up.

Depends on the quality of work and prior condition of the metal
If the guy really knows what hes doing and there's no marks or rust spots on the metal I would doubt you could tell

Look to the roll marks/stamps. You need some magnification, check the edges, marks are added when the gun is new, after it has been polished, edges should be crisp and sharp. Rounded/smooth edges means the gun was re-polished and reblued.

On expensive guns crooks will try to re-stamp, there are telltale signs.

Thefeeder

09-05-2008, 9:26 PM

This is correct, but in these instances the blueing on a gun without rust is usually just touched up.

Look to the roll marks/stamps. You need some magnification, check the edges, marks are added when the gun is new, after it has been polished, edges should be crisp and sharp. Rounded/smooth edges means the gun was re-polished and reblued.

On expensive guns crooks will try to re-stamp, there are telltale signs.

I have to ask the question....What telltale signs?

dfletcher

09-05-2008, 9:31 PM

How do you tell if a gun has been reblued?

The best way to tell if a gun has been reblued is knowing what one looks like that has not been reblued. Your eye will know the difference.

BillCA

09-06-2008, 12:14 AM

Some common things to look for that I've found include...

The aforementioned "faded" rollmarks. The barrel markings are an excellent place to start. So are the trademark logo's. On S&W's the "Made in USA" markings should also be crisp.

Check the edges at the barrel/frame juncture for rounding over. Barrel rib edges should be square, not rounded.

Look for signs of wear on the recoil plate and between the cylinder notches. On the cylinder plate, scratches made by repeated cycling will be blued over. Likewise, S&W's won't exhibit a drag line, but if you can see uneven wear in the bolt notches that's your big clue.

Use either bright sunlight or a SureFire tac light and shine light on the gun at an angle. Often times what looks nicely blued in the shop under bright light shows a hint of reddish coloring from oxidation. A reblued gun often shows partial uneven-ness along the barrel or flats where old bluing was not removed.

Look closely at the frame and working parts using a strong light (SureFire). Look for pitting on the frame, especially in corners and near the grips that have been blued over. Also look for dings or scratches that couldn't be polished out.

If the gun doesn't have original grips, ask if they're included. If so, ask to see them. Worn or very dirty original grips on a pristine gun will tell you it's been reblued.

For what it's worth, real collectors will value a reblued gun as if it had zero finish left (very low), even if it's otherwise perfect. If you're looking for a shooter and the gun is reblued, compare the asking price to the blue book price. I'd pay no more than 40%-50% for a reblued gun because it's impossible to determine how hard it was used or how abused it might have been.

If you buy a well used, but serviceable gun and decide to reblue it, take some well lit, sharp-focused photos of the gun before you send it off. When you sell it, the buyer can see how it looked before when you disclose it's been reblued (you will disclose it, right?)

CRTguns

09-06-2008, 12:17 AM

sometimes the smell will give it away too. A re-blue will often smell funny- even when completely de-greased, where a factory gun, when de-greased will not have any odor at all.

Miltiades

09-06-2008, 4:23 AM

I thought I would post a picture of a gun that I had reblued and comment on the question. The Colt Gold Cup shown below was manufactured in 1968 and is a pre-70 series gun. I bought it used in 1992 to use as a shooter, and it had some scratches in the original finish. I had a local gunsmith reblue the gun at that time and he did a good job, polishing out the scratches and putting a uniform blue on the gun.

In close examination I could see that some of the sharp corners on the slide were slightly rounded, showing the effect of his polishing. The engraved words on the slide were also not quite as sharp as before, because of the polishing. I have used the gun ever since for range shooting, putting maybe 2000 rounds through it, and it has held up well and still looks good. It has never been holstered and sits in a gun rug inside my safe most of the time.

As for value, I paid $600 for the gun in 1992 and don't know for sure what it is worth today. But I would guess that it is worth a couple of hundred more than I paid for it.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/pogo2/ColtGCpre7020.jpg

tankerman

09-06-2008, 12:39 PM

I have to ask the question....What telltale signs?
The re-stamps almost never line-up perfectly, so the lettering will have some overlap, look to the corners of the letters.

Saigon1965

09-06-2008, 12:41 PM

See what we are talking about in the Goldcup picture - The rollmark is softened not crisp from the factory -

Beelzy

09-06-2008, 1:25 PM

Simple. All the gun's edges should be crisp and sharp on a gun that's original.

Re-blued guns all have some area that was overpolished, one needs to look
closely on some to find the errors but they are there. Rollmarkings sometimes
offer little help as even the manufacturer can send out a lightly marked piece.

Gunaria

09-06-2008, 1:59 PM

If you are speaking with the person face to face just ask them and see if they are lying to you.;)